Title: I Guess I Should Be Thankful
Fandom: Super Smash Bros.
Rating: T
Genre: Friendship
Summary: Even the ones who are thankless have to be thankful on Thanksgiving. Blood, death. Link x Falco friendship. For bladewielder05's Thanksgiving contest.
Pairings: Link x Falco
A/N: Happy VERY early Thanksgiving, friends! *noms on a turkey leg* Bladewielder05 is hosting a Thanksgiving contest, so I decided to enter! It's been a year since I wrote Link and Falco, so here you go! :)
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone in the SSB series.
ENJOY!
I Guess I Should Be Thankful
Falco was not one to be thankful for anything. Even when Fox saved his hide many times, the avian either complained about it, or he thanked Fox in a sarcastic manner. Fox didn't seem to mind, being his longtime friend and all, but the other Smashers were annoyed by Falco's thanklessness.
"C'mon, try to be thankful!"
"I saved you in that match! What's wrong with you?!"
Falco shook his head as he ignored them. His "thanklessness" was part of his personality; there was no way he'd change part of it just to please his fellow Smashers. Those idiots will never understand me, he thought as he sighed.
Not even Thanksgiving could change his behavior. In fact, he hated that holiday. All those years, one Thanksgiving in particular had given him awful memories.
In the Smash Mansion, everyone was chomping down on their Thanksgiving dinner. Falco, on the other hand, was sitting on a hill near the Mansion, looking up at the sky. The moon's pale rays did little to illuminate the night sky. The stars twinkled, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. A chilling, night breeze ruffled Falco's blue feathers, and the grass swayed in the wind. Off in the distance, at the Mansion, he could hear laughter coming from the other Smashers inside. He shook his head. "Idiots…" he mumbled.
Falco laid down on the ground, placing his hands behind his head like a pillow. He stared up at the sky. I hate, hate, hate Thanksgiving, he thought to himself. As he stared at the twinkling stars, the avian busied himself by trying to count every single star up there. By the time he counted to thirty, he gave up. Bored out of his mind, he closed his eyes, and without realizing it, he fell asleep…
Falco was only ten when his mother sent him to his grandfather's house for Thanksgiving. The small avian tilted his head as he packed his bags. "Momma?" he wondered. "Why do I have to visit Grandpa?"
His mother turned to him, a small smile on her face. His mother was a beautiful avian, with blue feathers and red skin underneath. Her long dress bounced as she walked towards her son and hugged him. "Oh, Falco," she whispered. "Grandpa would be thrilled to have you on Thanksgiving."
Falco looked up at her, a curious expression on his face. "But…what about you and Pa?"
She let him go, her smile still on her face, but this smile seemed so…forced to Falco. "Oh, don't worry, honey. We'll be okay."
"But Momma," Falco asked. "What about the fight you two had yesterday?"
His mother gulped down a lump in her throat, sweat forming on her face. However, she kept a wide smile plastered on. "Oh, don't worry, son. We made up, so everything's just fine! Now, go on. Your Grandpa's waiting."
Falco kissed her farewell, and he walked out of the house to jump in the van with his grandfather.
Thanksgiving was all right, in Falco's opinion. He and his grandfather chatted quite a bit, though the latter mainly talked about the "old days". During Thanksgiving dinner, neither of them spoke as they ate. Falco had this gut-wrenching feeling inside of him that he couldn't ignore. The fight Falco had asked his mother about remained in his memory, especially his father's words to his mother.
"SHUT UP, YOU IDIOT! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Falco shook his head, telling himself that they had made up and everything was fine. But that feeling remained in him.
He did not realize that he was right all along.
When his grandfather dropped him off at the small avian's house, Falco hesitated to enter. That gut-wrenching feeling was still there. He gulped as sweat dripped down his face. Not wanting to wait any longer, he walked up the sidewalk and opened the door.
When he entered, he gasped upon seeing what was inside. His mother was laying on the ground, a gunshot wound on her forehead. Blood was splattered on the white walls and on the tiled, green floor. Her eyes were closed, and Falco knew that she was dead.
Falco felt bile coming up his throat, and he ran towards his mother's body. "Momma! MOMMA!" he screamed. "Wake up! Please!"
His mother did not respond. Falco glanced around the house frantically, looking for any sign of his father. "Pa?! Where are you?!" he called. "Momma's dead!"
After searching, he found his father's body in his parents' room. A gun was lying on one of the older avian's wings, a bottle of pills on the other. His father's beak was open and foaming. Falco came to the realization that his father had killed his mother, and had then committed suicide.
"Pa! PA!" Falco screamed, tears streaming down his face. "PA! MOMMA!" He glanced around the room and a cell phone caught his eye. He ran towards it and pressed three numbers. He then placed it to his ear, hearing only a buzzing sound on the other end until someone answered.
"911, what's your emergency?"
Falco was in tears, and he sobbed, "Pa killed Momma! Now Pa's dead!"
"I'm sorry, sir? Your father killed your mother and now he's dead?"
"Y-yes!" Falco sobbed. "I tried to wake them up, but they're not waking up!"
"It's okay, sir, the police are on the way."
"PA! MOMMA!" Falco screamed as he sobbed uncontrollably. He held his head, trying to get rid of the images of his mother and father's bodies in his head, but they remained. He was scarred for life.
"…lco? Falco!"
Falco opened his eyes when he heard a familiar voice. He looked up and saw a figure hovering over him. The avian yelped and punched the figure in the face, and the person cried out in pain as they held their nose. Falco stood up from the ground, ready to fight. When he examined the intruder, however, he recognized them.
"Link?" he questioned.
Link glanced at Falco, and he let go of his nose. Blood was dripping down from it. Falco's eyes widened. "Link, you dumbass!" Falco yelled. "I thought you were an enemy!"
Link chuckled, wiping the blood away. "Sorry, Falco. It was my fault."
Falco shook his head at him, crossing his arms. "Whatcha doin' here anyway?" he asked.
"Mario said to come get you," Link explained.
Falco scoffed. "Nah, don't want to be part of that damn holiday."
Link laughed. "Oh come on, Falco," he spoke. "Thanksgiving's fun! We eat great food, we thank the gods and goddesses for our lives—"
"I'm not thankful for mine."
Link stared at his friend. "Huh?" he asked for clarification.
"I said I'm not thankful for my life," Falco repeated, turning his head to face the sky. "It's been hell for me. Ever since...my parents died all those years ago. On Thanksgiving."
Link's eyes widened at the last statement. "Your parents…are dead?"
Falco sighed and turned his head to face Link. "Look, buddy, I'm not in the mood to talk. Just leave me be." He then turned back to look up at the stars.
Link frowned, thinking about what his friend had said. What happened to his parents?
Link stood beside Falco, looking up at the stars. They shone brightly in the sky, and Link smiled. "It's beautiful, huh Falco?"
"Yeah, whatever," Falco said as he rolled his eyes.
Link laughed. "C'mon. Admit it; they're beautiful."
"Will not."
"Will too!"
Falco grunted, gritting his teeth. "You're not gonna leave unless I tell you what happened, right?"
Link nodded. "You got that right."
Falco sighed, shaking his head at the Hylian. "Well…my dad killed my ma, and then he committed suicide. I was at Grandpa's place when it happened."
Link's eyes widened at this. "How old were you when that happened?"
"Ten."
Link was silent, thinking about what Falco had to endure at that age. Although Falco did not witness the murder-suicide, there was one thing he knew: if Falco hadn't been at his grandfather's place, he would've been killed by his father as well. "Falco," he whispered. "You're lucky."
"No, I'm not. If I had been there—"
"No." Link shook his head as he placed an arm around Falco's shoulders. "You're lucky that you were at your grandfather's place. If you'd stayed at home, you would be dead as well. Think about that. You should be thankful that you're alive, after that experience."
Falco stared at his friend. He was right: if his mother had not sent him to his grandfather's, he would have been murdered as well. He would have never met Link and Fox, and he wouldn't be living his life right now. "I…guess you're right."
Link smiled. "Imagine all the things that would have happened differently without you around. I'm quite thankful to have Zelda and Toon Link, but I'm also thankful to have you as my friend."
Falco smiled at Link's kind words. "Thanks, Link. And you'll always be my idiot."
Link chuckled. "Of course."
As the two stared at the stars again, they heard Dark Pit's voice calling out to them from outside the Mansion. "Link! Falco! Your dinner's gonna get cold! I don't want Pit to eat it all!"
Link turned to face Dark Pit and nodded. "We're coming, Dark Pit!" He then faced Falco. "C'mon, let's go eat. You must be hungry."
"Yeah. I just hope that I'm not dinner."
Link laughed at this as the two walked down the hill without a word.
Falco was smiling the whole time as he remembered what Link had said.
I guess I should be thankful…thankful that I'm alive and breathing, and thankful to have you as my pal. Thanks, Link.
Constructive criticism is welcomed! Wish me luck on the contest!
Beta readers: h34rt1lly, StarryNight101